Shenendehowa fans cheer for their team during the section ll hockey...

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Shenendehowa's Peter Sacks looks to pass to a teammate during the section ll hockey final against Saratoga at Union College on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Shenendehowa's Peter Russo, #19 tries to get the puck from Saratoga's Jack Rittenhouse, #4, in front of Shenendehowa's goal during the section ll hockey final at Union College on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Saratoga's Austin Patterson reaches for the puck with Shenendehowa's Austin McDonough right behind him during the section ll hockey final at Union College on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Saratoga's Austin Patterson falls to the ice as his teammate Devin Coffey, left, skates off with the puck while Shenendehowa's Austin McDonough, #9, tries to stop him during the section ll hockey final at Union College on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

With losses to Saratoga in the last three Section II championship games looming over their collective heads, the Shenendehowa hockey team took the Messa Rink ice with a lot to prove with another shot at a championship against the arch-rival Blue Streaks.

In victory, Shen left little doubt as to which team was superior this year, outplaying, outpassing, outhitting, and most importantly, outscoring Saratoga 5-0 Tuesday night to win its first Capital District High School Hockey League title since 2008.

Shenendehowa (16-6-1, 11-1-1) advances to the state regionals and will host Section I champion Scarsdale Saturday at 2 at Clifton Park Arena.

"A lot of them have been around since their sophomore year, the ones that are seniors now so they've tried and failed twice," Shenendehowa coach Juan de la Rocha said. "We've been a little bit younger in the past but I think our experience and our age helped us out tonight."

Shen seemed to be a step ahead of Saratoga, the defending state champion, from the outset and relied on its veteran leadership to grab an early lead.

Moments after Peter Sacks hit the post on a shot from the point, senior Kyle Marr set up Ryan Mortka in the slot and the senior cashed in, lifting a backhander over the glove of Saratoga goaltender Danny Hobbs at 7:55 of the first period.

Mortka appeared to increase the Shen lead when his shot with 4:49 left in the period appeared to go into the Saratoga net and bounced out but no goal was awarded.

The Plainsmen played on and were rewarded 29 seconds later when Nick Quigley beat the Saratoga defense and redirected a Marr centering pass into the net at 11:40 to give Shen a 2-0 cushion.

"My linemates are just moving off the puck and they are just doing great things," Marr said. "Tonight, they buried them when it counted. That is what it's all about."

Any hopes Saratoga had of rallying and winning its fifth straight sectional title were quickly dashed when Peter Russo tipped in a pass from Austin McDonough at 1:03 of the third period to give Shen a 3-0 lead.

"That was a tough one, we're down 3-0 but I thought my team was good enough to come back from that deficit," Saratoga coach Dave Torres said. "We just couldn't get it going."

Senior Ben Farstad recorded 22 saves in the shutout win, his biggest save coming in the second on a JT Rafferty bid in close with Saratoga (14-6-3, 9-2-3) on the power play.

"I came ready to go tonight. I get the shutout but I give the credit to the guys in front of me, Farstad said."

Led by sophomore Cameron Kuhl, Sacks and Tanner Cretti, the Shen defense set the tone with its physical presence.

"We wanted to play our game and our defensemen gave us that physical presence tonight," de la Rocha said. "They controlled the neutral zone well, they didn't go out of their way for their hit but when it presented itself to them, they took advantage of it."